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The Light of Christmas

Tom Shetler, M.A.

Christmas and the Promise in the Old Testament

We naturally connect Christmas to the Gospel and the New Testament, but it is rooted in the promises of the Old Testament. One of those prophecies was given in Isaiah 9:2, The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.

Christmas is a reminder, not only of the momentous event of the birth of Christ, but of the consequence of that event: the Light shines in our dark world. Jesus has come to bring His light into our lives. We live in "dark" age, and it is helpful for us to look more deeply at this message delivered many years ago.

Isaiah and the Christmas: The Darkness and the Light

The prophet Isaiah spoke these words not long after he predicted the destruction of Northern Israel at the hands of the ruthless Assyrian empire. This very region is the "dark land" that will be visited by the light. He is specifically directing his prophecy to "the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali." This is the Northern most region of Israel, and it will truly become a place of darkness. In 722 B.C. the Assyrians overran the area, and took thousands of Hebrews captive.

Many of these Israelis were scattered across the ancient world, as the Assyrians removed them and replaced them with captives from other parts of their empire. For the next several hundred years, Northern Israel will be a place of mixed race as the Israelis married the foreigners in their midst. More poignantly, they will live without the light of God's presence and blessing.

These residents of the North will continue to worship at the false and idolatrous replacement for the temple established by the first king of Israel, Jeroboam. He and his successors established a golden calf at Mount Gerazim and at Dan and made Samaria their capitol. This practice continued after the Assyrian invasion. And when the Jews built the second temple in the time of Nehemiah, the Samaritans built their own temple on Gerazim, establishing traditions of Samaritan theology and worship that survive to this day. The result is that the darkness of false worship lasted in Northern Israel for over 700 years.

Darkness: What It Means?

"Darkness" in the Bible refers to both the absence of God and the presence of sin. As men turn away from the knowledge of God, they fill the vacuum with the false and fleeting pleasures of sin. In some ways it is a chicken or egg problem; do men turn away from God to engage in sin or does engaging in sin cause men to turn away from God? In my view both of these principles are in play, and contribute to a deepening of the darkness both individually and corporately.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.


Tom Shetler, M.A.
Bethany College of Missions
6820 Auto Club Road
Bloomington, MN 55438
USA
tomshetler@hotmail.com

Evangelism and Growth of the Assemblies of God Churches in Tamilnadu, India - From 1989 - 2003 | Africans into World Missions? | Am I the Keeper of My Sister? | Manhattan Declaration - A Call of Christian Conscience | Lloyd C. Douglas' Ministry through His Novels | Light | An Evaluation of the Growth and Expansion of the Protestant Missionary Movement in the United States | The Way Forward in Missions -- New Wine in New Wineskins | Celebration of Love in the Book of Ruth | You Are Valued! | The Light of Christmas | Jesus Christ | Freedom in Jesus Christ - Our Lord's Ministry | HOME PAGE of December 2009 Issue | HOME PAGE | CONTACT EDITOR


ISSN
1548-7164


Vol. 5 : 9
December 2009

Board of Editors

Dr. Tan Kok Beng

Olive Rajesh, Ph.D.

Stan Schmidt

Steven Wakeman

Sudhir Isaiah, Ph.D.

Sundar Singh, Ph.D.

Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

Vasanthi Isaiah, M.A., B.Ed.

M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D., Managing Editor


© Copyright 2009 M.S.Thirumalai. All rights reserved.